Revelations Add to Mother’s Grief

Still numbed by the loss of her 15-year-old son, Susan Markowitz said Wednesday she was stunned by reports that two dozen people may have seen Nicholas Markowitz while he was held captive before his execution-style murder Aug. 8.

“I have no idea who they are or what they were thinking, or what their mentality was,” said Markowitz, of West Hills. “Maybe they didn’t know.”

She said, “I honestly believe everyone knows between right and wrong, and you have to listen to that little voice up there.”

Three men and a 17-year-old boy have pleaded not guilty in the kidnapping and murder. A fifth suspect, Jesse James Hollywood, is a fugitive.

Investigators say Hollywood masterminded the kidnapping in retribution against the boy’s half-brother over drug debts, although Hollywood was not present when the boy was shot in the mountains near Santa Barbara.

During his two days in captivity, at least two dozen people became aware that Nicholas was being held at various locations but did not call police, the Santa Barbara News-Press reported Wednesday, citing sealed grand jury transcripts. Prosecutors had earlier said that one of those people was Hollywood’s lawyer, Stephen Hogg.

The transcripts also said that a woman returning from church in West Hills saw Nicholas being beaten and thrown into a van, and called the Los Angeles Police Department with a vehicle license number, the paper said.

The LAPD did not connect the report to the Markowitz case until a month later, when Santa Barbara police brought it to their attention, LAPD Cmdr. Sharon Papa said.

Papa declined to say whether police tried to find the van or its owner, who turned out to be a friend of Hollywood. She confirmed that an investigation has begun into the department’s handling of the matter.

“At this point, we don’t know that it involves any misconduct on the part of officers, but appropriate action will be taken if warranted once the investigation is completed,” Papa said.

Susan Markowitz, 41, describes herself as “a stay-at-home mom whose job has been taken away.”

She said she and her 46-year-old husband, Jeffrey, have grown estranged from Nicholas’ half-brother Benjamin, whose $36,000 drug debt allegedly prompted the abduction.

Despite her grief, she has managed to find some purpose producing “wanted” posters for Hollywood and is tacking them up anywhere she can.

“When they killed him, they killed me,” she said. “He was a bigger part of me than anyone will understand, and when I speak of him, I feel like I’m still alive.”

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Times staff writers Zanto Peabody and Roberto J. Manzano contributed to this story.